Ice door mechanism

ABSTRACT

A refrigerator cabinet having a dividing partition with the top freezer compartment having an ice piece dispenser in communication with an upper passageway normally closed by a counterweighted ramp closure on the underside of the partition while the lower compartment door has an enclosure including a lower ice piece passageway forwardly offset from the upper passageway communicating with an exterior ice service area in the lower door. The lower passageway is closed by a closure member which when actuated to an upwardly and rearwardly inclined position engages a follower to pivot the ramp closure to downwardly and forwardly inclined position defining a connecting channel between the passageways. The closure member has delay means to allow all the dispensed ice pieces time to enter the lower passageway before closing thereof.

United States Patent [1 1 Benasutti et al.

Feb. 5, 1974 [CE DOOR MECHANISM [75] Inventors: Louis D. Benasutti,Fairborn; Jost S.

Sucro, Dayton, both of Ohio [73] Assignee: General Motors Corporation,

Detroit, Mich.

[22] Filed: Nov. 27, 1972 [211 Appl. No; 309,935

Primary Examinerwilliam E. Wayner Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Edward P.Barthel [57] ABSTRACT A refrigerator cabinet having a dividing partitionwith the top freezer compartment having an ice piece dispenser incommunication with an upper passageway normally closed by acounterweighted ramp closure on the underside of the partition while thelower compartment door has an enclosure including a lower ice piecepassageway forwardly offset from the upper passageway communicating withan exterior ice service area in the lower door. The lower passageway isclosed by a closure member which when actuated to an upwardly andrearwardly inclined position engages a foliower to pivot the rampclosure to downwardly and forwardly inclined position defining aconnecting channel between the passageways. The closure member has delaymeans to allow all the dispensed ice pieces time to enter the lowerpassageway before closing thereof.

6 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PATENTEU FEB 5 SHEH 3 (IF 4 PATENIEUFEBSHEURUF I [CE DOOR MECHANISM This invention relates to a domesticrefrigerator and particularly to a refrigerator having a partitiondividing the cabinet into upper and lower compartments with an ice piecedispensing arrangement for delivering ice pieces from a dispenser in theupper freezer compartment through both the partition and the lowercompartment door to an exterior recessed ice service area in the door.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide means in arefrigerator having a partition dividing the cabinet into upper andlower compartments with an automatic ice piece dispenser in the uppercompartment for dispensing ice pieces through an upper passageway in thepartition and a forwardly off-set lower passageway through the lowercompartment door wherein the dispenser may be located in the rear areaof the top freezer compartment such that a pair of oppositely swingingclosure members for the passsageways are moved in sequence to their openpositions in parallel inclined relation by actuator means from anexterior recessed ice service area in the lower door to define aconnecting channel between the off-set passageways. I It is anotherobject of the present invention to provide an upper and lowercompartmental refrigerator having an ice maker including an ice piecedispenser in the upper freezer with an ice piece discharge chute deviceon the underside of the horizontal divider partition separating thecompartments operative to deliver ice pieces from an upper passageway inthe partition to a forwardly off-set lower passageway in the lowercompartment door whereby the chute device includes an upper closuremember maintained in closed position by counterweight follower and levermechanism operative to pivot the upper closure member to a downwardlyand outwardly inclined open position actuated from an ice service areain the outer face of the lower compartment door in conjunction with thepivotal movement of a lower passageway closure member to an upwardly andinwardly inclined open position arranged in paral lel channel formingrelation to the lower closure member and whereby air operated delaymeans are provided to retard the closing of the closure members untilall the ice pieces dispensed into the upper passageway have passed intothe lower passageway for dispensing into the service area.

Further objects and advantages will become more apparent from thefollowing specification, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings of which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator cabinet incorporating thepresent invention with the upper and lower compartment doors shown in anopen position;

FlG. 2 is a fragmentary front elevational view of the ice service areaof the present invention incorporated in the outer wall of the lowercompartment door;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view taken along line 3-3 ofFIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken generally along theline 44 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the underside of the horizontalpartition separating the upper and lower compartments showing the icepiece dispensing chute unit in closed position;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken generally alongline 6-6 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken generally alongline 7-7 of FIG. 3.

Referring now to the drawings, especially FIG. 1, there is shown arefrigerator cabinet 10 having an upper freezing compartment 11 and alower fresh-food storage compartment 12. The cabinet includes aninsulated top outer wall 13, insulated side walls 14 and 15, the innersurfaces of which extend rearwardly from the cabinet front opening, andhaving disposed therebetween in the lower compartment a plurality ofshelves l6 and lower storage pans l7 and 18 above compartment insulatedbottom wall 19. The top freezer compartment 11 has an access opening 20thereto closed by an upper insulated door 21 while the lower compartment[2 has an access opening 23 closed by main insulated door 24. The lowerdoor 24 includes an outer sheet metal wall 25 while the inner wall ofthe door is provided with an inner door pan 26 preferably of sheetplastic material such as high impact polystyrene or ABS copolymer. Thedoor pan 26 is bordered by a peripheral rib 27 having shelves 28extending between the vertical portions of the rib. A breaker strip 29of plastic material joins the door outer wall and inner panel. Theinside of the door 24 includes an enclosure 30 positioned with its topsurface 31 in downwardly off-set relation with the upper face of the rib27 while its outer side surface is in inwardly off-set relation with theouter face of the vertical portion of the rib 27.

As seen in FIG. 4, the upper freezer compartment ll and the lowercompartment 12 are separated by a horizontal divider or partition 32,filled with foamed resin insulating material 33, providing upperpassageway means 34 in the form ofa rectangular cross section ice pieceor ice cube passageway having its entrance 36 in the upper surface 38 ofthe partition 32 for receiving ice pieces from the discharge opening 40ofsuitable automatic ice dispensing means 42, such as the screw conveyordisclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,387,743 for example, including a receptacleor bin 44 for receiving and storing ice pieces produced by an automaticice maker positioned thereabove in casing 46. It will be noted that theice maker casing 46 and subjacent bin 44 are positioned in theirconventional location in the rearward area of the upper compartment 11such that applicants invention can be incorporated in a conventionalrefrigerator with a minimal amount of structural alteration. An exampleof one type of ice maker suitable for use with applicants invention isdisclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,540,227, assigned to the assignee of theinstant application.

As seen in FIGS. 1 and 4, a guide housing 50 having triangular sidewalls 51 joined by a sloping front wall 52 is provided in the uppercompartment whereby the guide 50 encloses the discharge opening 40 ofthe ice dispensing means 42 and the entrance 36 of the upper passage 34to provqde communication of the ice pieces therebetween upon actuationof the dispenser 42. it will be noted that applicants structure allowssufficient space forward of the dispenser 42 for the upper passageway 34with minimal interference with the refrigerated air inlet slots 53 individer 32. The exit 54 of passageway 34 is provided with a peripheralgasket 56 therearound for sealing engagement by a pivoted ramp closure58 of a discharge chute housing, indicated generally at 60 in FIG. 5,having an inwardly curved rear wall 61 suitably affixed on the undersideof the divider 32. The ramp closure 58 is mounted in the chute housingby horizontally reciprocating or sliding pivot means consisting of studs62 located on either side of the rear edge 63 of ramp closure 58slidably received in rearwardly extending slots 64 located in opposedrelation on respective inner faces of chute unit side walls 66, 67. Inthis way the studs 62 are moved to a location at the rear open endedportion of the slots with the ramp closure 58 pivoted to its solid linehorizontal closed posi tion as seen in FIG. 4.

counterweight lever means in the form of a pair of bellcrank levers 68,69 are pivotally mounted on either side wall 66 and 67 of the chutehousing by respective pivot pins 70, 71 intermediate their ends. Thebellcrank levers are provided with forwardly and downwardly extendingportions 72 and with rearwardly and downwardly extending portions 73.The side walls 66, 67 each have respective elongaged arcuate slots ortracks 74 and 75 for reception of the outer ends of horizontal bail yoke76 extending through ramp closure 58 intermediate the forward 65 andrear 63 edges thereof. Chute follower means in the form of tubularroller 77 is rotatably supported on a transverse pin 78 joining thelower ends of lever portions 72 and functions as a counterweight tonormally bias the closure member 58 in its horizontal closed position asshown in FIG. 4. Stop means in the form of structural crossbrace 79 isalso provided above the follower 78 to integrally join the lower ends oflever portions 72. The arcuate slots 74 in cooperation with the bailyoke 76 and slidable studs 62 pivot the closure member 58 to apredetermined downwardly and outwardly inclined position, shown in FIG.4 in phantom lines, which preferably is an angle of about 50 degreesbelow the horizontal.

FIG. 4 shows the outer wall 25 of lower cabinet door 24 including ahousing member 80 preferably of plastic material located thereindefining a recessed service area 82 for receiving a drinking glass (notshown) above a liquid overflow tray 83 to receive ice pieces deliveredexteriorly of the cabinet from the ice dispenser 42. The enclosure 30 islocated substantially coextensive with the service area 82 such that itsupper surface 3] is located in vertically spaced relation a defineddistance below the overlying bottom wall of the partition 32. it will benoted that the enclosure 30 extends inwardly into compartment 12 to aposition wherein its rear wall 96 lies in a vertical plane, theextension of which intersects the divider partition 32 substantiallyalong the forward edge of the upper passageway exit 54.

The lower passageway 86 is in the form of a downwardly inclined rightangled elbow with its upper entrance 98 located in recessed portion 100in horizontal enclosure surface 31 and includes closure means in theform of an insulated closure member 0 operable when in its horizontalposition to seat on peripheral gasket member 112 to close in a sealedmanner the entrance 98 of the lower passageway. As seen in FIG. 6, theupper wall 114 of door member is shown as sheet metal having downwardlyformed flanges engag ing the edges ofa bottom panel 115 preferably ofplastic material having hinge means at its outer pivotal edge in theform of a pair of forwardly extending integral spaced ears 116 havingaligned apertures for receiving a transverse pin 118 the ends of whichare pivotally received in the opposed side walls of recess 100. Theclosure member 110 hinge means thus allows the member to swing to anupwardly and rearwardly inclined position, shown in phantom lines inFIG. 4, in parallel inclined relation to oppositely swinging closuremember 58.

The closure member 110 actuating means includes a pair of arcuate arms120, 121 integrally formed on either side of the door panel 115 andextend through an arc of about 90 degrees within the lower passageway 86so as to project outwardly beyond the rear wall 122 of the service area82 for pivotal attachment to spaced parallel legs [26, 127 ofa U-shapedmetal actuator 130 movably supported in service area housing 80. The U-shaped actuator legs 126 and H7 are slidably received for reciprocalmovement in opposed longitudinal slots 128, 129 formed in the inner faceof side walls 132, 133 of the housing 80.

As seen in FIG. 7 the arcuate arms 120, 121 each has integral outwardlyprojecting studs 134, 135 received in vertically oriented elongatedapertures 136, 137 in respective actuator legs I26, 127. In this waypivotal movement between the arcuate arms and their associated actuatorlegs is achieved resulting in the movement of closure member 110 to itsupwardly and rearwardly inclined open position upon the user pushing inon the U-shaped actuator operating bar portion 138 suitably affixed toits base 139 such as by screws 140.

A cover plate 141, suitably affixed on the front of housing 80 as byscrews 142, includes a rectangular bearing 143 for guiding thereciprocal movement of the actuator 130 while a downwardly extending lipportion 144 serves to deflect ice pieces into the service area throughthe exit 84 of lower passageway 86. A face plate 146 may be used toprovide a decorative finish for the serivce area including suitablenomenclature thereon to identify the actuators. As indicated in FIG. 2the service area could also include water dispensing means 147 operatedby a suitable actuator 148 in a manner disclosed by USv Pat. No.2,786,338, for example. Further, a horizontally sliding panel 149 couldbe provided for tracking movement in upper and lower door guides 151,152, if desired, to conceal the service area when not in use.

As seen in FIG. 4 the closure member 110 has a forward free cam edgedownwardly sloped such that upon an initial small upward movement of themember 110 its cam edge 160 will sequentially engage the follower roller77 and overcome the counterbalancing downward gravity bias of the rollerto initiate downward movement of the closure member 58. Continued upwardmovement of the member ll0 will cause the crossbrace stop member 79 todepress a plunger I61, protruding downward from the under-surface ofpartition 32, for upward movement within switch housing 162 to therebyactuate button 163 of a microswitch 164 which in turn closes a circuitto energize an electrical drive motor (not shown) of the ice dispenser42. Thus, the ice dispenser will deliver ice pieces through opening 40only upon the closure member 110 attaining its upwardly and rearwardlyinclined position (shown in phantom in FIG. 4) defining the angle ofabout 50 with the horizontal so as to be in substantially parallelrelation with downwardly and outwardly inclined closure member 58 andtogether defining a con necting channel between the upper and lowervertical off-set passageways 34 and 86 for transfer of the ice piecestherebetween. It will be noted that cross brace structural member 79engages the switch housing 162 lower surface after depressing plunger161 to thereby serve as stop means for both upper and lower closuremembers 58 and 110.

The service area housing 80 has molded in each side wall tubularcylinder 172, 173 the axes of which extend in parallel horizontalfashion whereby each encloses a resilient damping or retarding means inthe form of corrugated bellows diaphragm members 176, 177 which can bemade of rubber. metal or plastic material each operable for reciprocablemovement within its respective cylinder. Each bellows member [76. 177has its outer end affixed to its outermost fold juncture by respectiveencircling rings 178, 179 of L-shaped brackets 182, 183 suitablyattached to actuator legs 126. 127 while the inner ends of each bellowsare anchored by means of concentric restricted inner openings 184, 185which releasably engage the innermost fold juncture of its respectivebellows in snap-in fashion.

As seen in FIG. 3 each bellows has a reduced connector I86, 187 whichsealingly receives therein an associated flexible tube 188, 189, theopposite ends of which are sealingly connected to valve means 190 in theform of a common valve chamber l9l having op posed side inlets I92, [93positioned symmetrically between the parallel axes of tubes 172, 173within embossment 194. The valve includes a circular disc 195 which isadapted to close the valve outlet port 196 and to cut off communicationbetween the interior of each of the bellows and the atmosphere. Thevalve disc 195 is normally urged inwardly to its seated position by ahelical coil spring 198 positioned around valve stem 199 and bearingagainst the outer end of the valve chamber [91 and at the face of valvestem plate 200. The valve chamber 19] has a relatively small air inletport 202 which allows air to bleed into the chamber 191 and the interiorof each of the bellows.

Thus, in operation when the actuator 130 is depressed by the operator.both of the bellows 176, 177 are simultaneously operated causing the airtherein to be compressed responsive to the contraction of the be]- lowsand thereby force air from the valve chamber 191 through outlet port 196by overcoming the spring 198 and moving the valve disc 195 out ofengagement with its valve seat to its open position. in this manner theclosure members 110 and 58 are radially moved to their inclined openposition as explained above to allow immediate dispensing of ice pieces.After the release of the actuator and with the valve disc returned byspring 198 to sealingly close the outlet port 196 air will slowly bleedback into the bellows through the small inlet port 202 allowing thebellows to slowly expand under the influence of the gravity biasedcounterweight follower 77 moving to its normal downward positionresulting in a delayed closing of the closure members 110 and 58. Thisdelayed closure of the members H0, 58 insures that the dispensed icepieces have had sufficient time to clear or pass from the upperpassageway 34 into the lower passageway 86 and not be caught-up by theclosure members to prevent their full return to a horizontal closedposition. it will be noted that the chute housing side walls 66, 67cooperate with the opened closure member 58 to form a discharge chuteand properly direct the ice pieces into the entrance of the lowerpassageway and prevent the ice pieces from exiting into the lowercompartment.

While the embodiment of the present invention as herein disclosedconstitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other formsmight be adopted.

We claim:

1. A refrigerator including a cabinet having a horizontal partitiondividing said cabinet into a lower freshfood compartment and an upperfreezer compartment, an insulated door for closing the open front ofsaid lower fresh food compartment, said door including an outer wall andan inner panel. an ice service area in the outer wall of said door, saidinner panel having a rearwardly extending enclosure including an upperhorizontal surface spaced a defined distance below the underside of saidpartition. a first lower passageway ex' tending through said door andhaving an upper entrance positioned in said enclosure upper surface anda lower exit in said ice service area a closure member closing saidfirst passageway entrance having hinge means at its forward portion forpivoting said first closure member between a normal horizontal closedposition and an upwardly and inwardly inclined open position. ice piecedispensing means within said freezer compartment, a second upperpassageway extending through said partition having an entrancepositioned to receive ice pieces from said dispensing means, said upperpassageway having a lower exit positioned in rearward offset relation tosaid lower passageway en trance, chute means on the underside of saidpartition including a closure ramp, said closure ramp having pivot meansadjacent the rearward edge of said upper passageway exit for movementbetween a horizontal position closing said upper passageway exit and adownwardly and outwardly inclined open position with said closure rampforward edge positioned adjacent the rearward edge of said lowerpassageway entrance, lever means operating said closure ramp, said levermeans including an operating follower positioned in overlying relationto said lower passageway closure member rearward edge, said followerbeing gravity biased to a first position causing said lever means tomove said closure ramp to its horizontal closed position, actuatingmeans in said service area operatively connected to said lowerpassageway closure member for moving said closure member from its normalclosed position to its open position, said closure member in its courseof travel engaging said follower resulting in said closure ramp beingmoved to its open position permitting ice pieces dispensed from thedispenser to be guided between said closure member and said closure rampfrom said upper passageway into said lower passageway.

2. A refrigerator including a cabinet having a horizontal partitiondividing said cabinet into a lower above freezing compartment an anupper freezer compartment, an insulated door for closing the open frontof said lower fresh food compartment, said door including an outer walland an inner panel formed of a nonmetallic sheet, a box-shaped iceservice area in the outer wall of said door havind a vertical back wall.said inner panel having integrally formed therein a rearwardly extendingenclosure including an upper horizontal surface spaced a defineddistance below the underside of said partition, a lower forwardlyinclined passageway extending through said door and having an upperentrance positioned in said enclosure upper surface and a lower exit insaid ice service area vertical back wall, a closure member closing saidlower passageway entrance, hinge means by which said closure member issecured to said upper surface for pivotal movement between a normalhorizontal closed position and an upwardly and inwardly inclined openposition,

said hinge means positioned substantially at the intersection of theplanes of said ice service back wall and said horizontal upper surface,said closure member having a pair of spaced arcuate arms which extendthrough said lower passageway and terminate in the upper portion of saidservice area when said closure member is in its normal closed position,an ice piece dispensing means positioned in the rearward portion of saidfreezer compartment, an upper passageway extending through saidpartition in a downwardly and outwardly inclined direction having anentrance in the upper surface of said partition positioned to receiveice pieces from said dispensing means, said upper passageway having anexit in the undersurface of said partition, said upper passageway exitforward edge being in substantial vertical alignment with the rearwardedge of said lower passageway entrance, a chute housing on the undersideof said partition including a closure ramp, said closure ramp havingslidable pivot means adjacent the rearward edge of said upper passagewayexit for movement within said chute housing between a normal horizontalclosed position and a downwardly and forwardly inclined open positionwith its forward edge positioned adjacent the rearward edge of saidlower passageway entrance, lever means pivoted on said chute housingoperatively connected to said ramp closure, said lever means including afollower positioned in overlying relation to said door, said followerbeing gravity biased to move to a first position operating said levermeans to move said ramp closure to its horizontal closed position,actuating means in said service area operatively connected to saidclosure member arcuate arms for moving said closure member from itsnormal closed position to its open position, the rearward edge of saidclosure member being beveled to provide a camming portion thereon, saidclosure member in its course of travel causing said camming portion toengage said follower resulting in said closure ramp being moved to itsopen position substantially parallel to said closure member permittingice pieces dispensed from the dispenser to be guided between saidclosure member and said closure ramp from said upper passageway intosaid lower passageway.

3. A referigerator including a cabinet having a horizontal partitiondividing said cabinet into a lower freshfood compartment and an upperfreezer compartment, an insulated door for closing the open front ofsaid lower fresh food compartment, said door including an outer wall andan inner panel, an ice service area in the outer wall of said door, saidinner panel having a rearwardly extending enclosure including an upperhorizontal surface spaced a defined distance below the underside of saidpartition, a first lower passageway extending through said door andhaving an upper entrance positioned in said enclosure upper surface anda lower exit in said ice service area, a closure member closing saidfirst passageway entrance having hinge means at its forward portion forpivoting said first closure member between a normal closed position andan open position, ice piece dispensing means within said freezercompartment, a second upper passageway extending through said partitionhaving an entrance positioned to receive ice pieces from said dispensingmeans, said upper passageway having a lower exit positioned in rearwardoffset relation to said lower passageway entrance, chute means on theunderside of said partition including a closure ramp, said closure ramphaving pivot means adjacent the rearward edge of said upper passagewayexit for movement between a position closing said upper passageway exitand an open position, means operating said closure ramp, said meansincluding an operating follower positioned in overlying relation to saidlower passageway closure member, said follower being gravity biased to afirst position causing said means to move said closure ramp to itsclosed position, actuating means in said service area operativelyconnected to said lower passageway closure member for moving saidclosure member from its normal closed position to its open position,said closure member in its course of travel engaging said followerresulting in said closure ramp being moved to its open positionpermitting ice pieces dispensed from the dispenser to be guided by saidclosure ramp from said upper passageway into said lower passageway, adelayed closing mechanism for said closure member, said mechanismincluding at least one bellows positioned within said door anchored atits inner end to said door and having its outer end adapted for manualactuation by said actuator toward said anchored end to contract saidbellows, said bellows communicating with a valve chamber having a checkvalve air outlet port communicating with the atmosphere, thus tocompress air within said bellows responsive to the contraction of saidbellows and thereby rapidly force air from said valve chamber outletport to permit rapid movement of said closure member and said closureramp to their open positions, said valve chamber having a relativelysmall air inlet port communicating with said bellows to allow air toslowly return to and expand said bellows and thus delay the closure ofsaid closure member and said closure ramp under the influence of saidgravity biased fol lower to assure a sufficient time interval for theice pieces dispensed into said upper passageway to pass into said lowerpassageway.

4. A refrigerator including a cabinet having a horizontal partitiondividing said cabinet into a lower freshfood compartment and an upperfreezer compartment, an insulated door for closing the open front ofsaid lower fresh food compartment, said door including an outer wall andan inner panel, an ice service area in the outer wall of said door, saidinner panei having a rearwardly extending enclosure including an upperhorizontal surface spaced a defined distance below the underside of saidpartition, a first lower passageway extending through said door andhaving an upper entrance positioned in said enclosure upper surface anda lower exit in said ice service area, a closure member closing saidfirst passageway entrance having hinge means at its forward portion forpivoting said first closure member between a normal horizontal closedposition and an upwardly and inwardly inclined open position, ice piecedispensing means within said freezer compartment, a second upperpassageway extending through said partition having an entrancepositioned to receive ice pieces from said dispensing means, said upperpassageway having a lower exit positioned in rearward offset relation tosaid lower passageway entrance, a chute housing on the underside of saidpartition including horizontally spaced side walls having a closure ramptherebetween, horizontally slidable pivot means provided between saidside walls and the rearward edge of said closure ramp for movementbetween a horizontal position closing said upper passageway exit and adownwardly and outwardly inclined open position, a counterweighted levermechanism operating said closure ramp, said mechanism including a pairof bellcrank levers pivotally mounted on either side wall of said chutehousing, one arm portion of said levers having a transverse bail yokesupported thereon and extending through an intermediate portion of saidclosure ramp, said chute housing side walls having arcuate tracks fortravel of the outer ends of said bail yoke thereon, the other armportion of said levers having a transverse counterweighted rollerfollower rotatably supported therebetween so as to be positioned inoverlying relation to said lower passageway closure member rearwardedge, said follower being gravity biased to a first position causingsaid levers to move said closure ramp to its horizontal closed position,actuating means in said service area operatively connected to said lowerpassageway closure member for moving said closure member from its normalclosed position to its open position, said closure member in its courseof travel engaging said follower resulting in said closure ramp 10 beingmoved to its open position permitting ice pieces dispensed from thedispenser to be guided between said closure member and said closure rampfrom said upper passageway into said lower passageway.

5. The refrigerator of claim 1 wherein said closure member and saidclosure ramp in their open positions being in substantially parallelrelation and each having an angle ofinclination of about 50 from thehorizontal.

6. The refrigerator of claim 3 wherein said delayed closing mechanismincludes a pair of said bellows, a housing positioned in said servicearea slidably supporting said actuating means, said housing having apair of tubular cylinders the principal axes of which are parallel toand symmetrically positioned on either side of the path of movement ofsaid actuating means, each of said cylinders enclosing one of saidbellows, whereby inward pressure on said actuating means simultaneouslycompresses said pair of bellows to insure axial movement of saidactuating means.

1. A refrigerator including a cabinet having a horizontal partitiondividing said cabinet into a lower fresh-food compartment and an upperfreezer compartment, an insulated door for closing the open front ofsaid lower fresh food compartment, said door including an outer wall andan inner panel, an ice service area in the outer wall of said door, saidinner panel having a rearwardly extending enclosure including an upperhorizontal surface spaced a defined distance below the underside of saidpartition, a first lower passageway extending through said door andhaving an upper entrance positioned in said enclosure upper surface anda lower exit in said ice service area, a closure member closing saidfirst passageway entrance having hinge means at its forward portion forpivoting said first closure member between a normal horizontal closedposition and an upwardly and inwardly inclined open position, ice piecedispensing means within said freezer compartment, a second upperpassageway extending through said partition having an entrancepositioned to receive ice pieces from said dispensing means, said upperpassageway having a lower exit positioned in rearward offset relation tosaid lower passageway entrance, chute means on the underside of saidpartition including a closure ramp, said closure ramp having pivot meanSadjacent the rearward edge of said upper passageway exit for movementbetween a horizontal position closing said upper passageway exit and adownwardly and outwardly inclined open position with said closure rampforward edge positioned adjacent the rearward edge of said lowerpassageway entrance, lever means operating said closure ramp, said levermeans including an operating follower positioned in overlying relationto said lower passageway closure member rearward edge, said followerbeing gravity biased to a first position causing said lever means tomove said closure ramp to its horizontal closed position, actuatingmeans in said service area operatively connected to said lowerpassageway closure member for moving said closure member from its normalclosed position to its open position, said closure member in its courseof travel engaging said follower resulting in said closure ramp beingmoved to its open position permitting ice pieces dispensed from thedispenser to be guided between said closure member and said closure rampfrom said upper passageway into said lower passageway.
 2. A refrigeratorincluding a cabinet having a horizontal partition dividing said cabinetinto a lower above freezing compartment an an upper freezer compartment,an insulated door for closing the open front of said lower fresh foodcompartment, said door including an outer wall and an inner panel formedof a non-metallic sheet, a box-shaped ice service area in the outer wallof said door havind a vertical back wall, said inner panel havingintegrally formed therein a rearwardly extending enclosure including anupper horizontal surface spaced a defined distance below the undersideof said partition, a lower forwardly inclined passageway extendingthrough said door and having an upper entrance positioned in saidenclosure upper surface and a lower exit in said ice service areavertical back wall, a closure member closing said lower passagewayentrance, hinge means by which said closure member is secured to saidupper surface for pivotal movement between a normal horizontal closedposition and an upwardly and inwardly inclined open position, said hingemeans positioned substantially at the intersection of the planes of saidice service back wall and said horizontal upper surface, said closuremember having a pair of spaced arcuate arms which extend through saidlower passageway and terminate in the upper portion of said service areawhen said closure member is in its normal closed position, an ice piecedispensing means positioned in the rearward portion of said freezercompartment, an upper passageway extending through said partition in adownwardly and outwardly inclined direction having an entrance in theupper surface of said partition positioned to receive ice pieces fromsaid dispensing means, said upper passageway having an exit in theundersurface of said partition, said upper passageway exit forward edgebeing in substantial vertical alignment with the rearward edge of saidlower passageway entrance, a chute housing on the underside of saidpartition including a closure ramp, said closure ramp having slidablepivot means adjacent the rearward edge of said upper passageway exit formovement within said chute housing between a normal horizontal closedposition and a downwardly and forwardly inclined open position with itsforward edge positioned adjacent the rearward edge of said lowerpassageway entrance, lever means pivoted on said chute housingoperatively connected to said ramp closure, said lever means including afollower positioned in overlying relation to said door, said followerbeing gravity biased to move to a first position operating said levermeans to move said ramp closure to its horizontal closed position,actuating means in said service area operatively connected to saidclosure member arcuate arms for moving said closure member from itsnormal closed position to its open position, the rearward edge of saidclosure member being beveled to provide a camming portion therEon, saidclosure member in its course of travel causing said camming portion toengage said follower resulting in said closure ramp being moved to itsopen position substantially parallel to said closure member permittingice pieces dispensed from the dispenser to be guided between saidclosure member and said closure ramp from said upper passageway intosaid lower passageway.
 3. A referigerator including a cabinet having ahorizontal partition dividing said cabinet into a lower fresh-foodcompartment and an upper freezer compartment, an insulated door forclosing the open front of said lower fresh food compartment, said doorincluding an outer wall and an inner panel, an ice service area in theouter wall of said door, said inner panel having a rearwardly extendingenclosure including an upper horizontal surface spaced a defineddistance below the underside of said partition, a first lower passagewayextending through said door and having an upper entrance positioned insaid enclosure upper surface and a lower exit in said ice service area,a closure member closing said first passageway entrance having hingemeans at its forward portion for pivoting said first closure memberbetween a normal closed position and an open position, ice piecedispensing means within said freezer compartment, a second upperpassageway extending through said partition having an entrancepositioned to receive ice pieces from said dispensing means, said upperpassageway having a lower exit positioned in rearward offset relation tosaid lower passageway entrance, chute means on the underside of saidpartition including a closure ramp, said closure ramp having pivot meansadjacent the rearward edge of said upper passageway exit for movementbetween a position closing said upper passageway exit and an openposition, means operating said closure ramp, said means including anoperating follower positioned in overlying relation to said lowerpassageway closure member, said follower being gravity biased to a firstposition causing said means to move said closure ramp to its closedposition, actuating means in said service area operatively connected tosaid lower passageway closure member for moving said closure member fromits normal closed position to its open position, said closure member inits course of travel engaging said follower resulting in said closureramp being moved to its open position permitting ice pieces dispensedfrom the dispenser to be guided by said closure ramp from said upperpassageway into said lower passageway, a delayed closing mechanism forsaid closure member, said mechanism including at least one bellowspositioned within said door anchored at its inner end to said door andhaving its outer end adapted for manual actuation by said actuatortoward said anchored end to contract said bellows, said bellowscommunicating with a valve chamber having a check valve air outlet portcommunicating with the atmosphere, thus to compress air within saidbellows responsive to the contraction of said bellows and therebyrapidly force air from said valve chamber outlet port to permit rapidmovement of said closure member and said closure ramp to their openpositions, said valve chamber having a relatively small air inlet portcommunicating with said bellows to allow air to slowly return to andexpand said bellows and thus delay the closure of said closure memberand said closure ramp under the influence of said gravity biasedfollower to assure a sufficient time interval for the ice piecesdispensed into said upper passageway to pass into said lower passageway.4. A refrigerator including a cabinet having a horizontal partitiondividing said cabinet into a lower fresh-food compartment and an upperfreezer compartment, an insulated door for closing the open front ofsaid lower fresh food compartment, said door including an outer wall andan inner panel, an ice service area in the outer wall of said door, saidinner panel having a rearwardly extending enclosure including an upperhorizonTal surface spaced a defined distance below the underside of saidpartition, a first lower passageway extending through said door andhaving an upper entrance positioned in said enclosure upper surface anda lower exit in said ice service area, a closure member closing saidfirst passageway entrance having hinge means at its forward portion forpivoting said first closure member between a normal horizontal closedposition and an upwardly and inwardly inclined open position, ice piecedispensing means within said freezer compartment, a second upperpassageway extending through said partition having an entrancepositioned to receive ice pieces from said dispensing means, said upperpassageway having a lower exit positioned in rearward offset relation tosaid lower passageway entrance, a chute housing on the underside of saidpartition including horizontally spaced side walls having a closure ramptherebetween, horizontally slidable pivot means provided between saidside walls and the rearward edge of said closure ramp for movementbetween a horizontal position closing said upper passageway exit and adownwardly and outwardly inclined open position, a counterweighted levermechanism operating said closure ramp, said mechanism including a pairof bellcrank levers pivotally mounted on either side wall of said chutehousing, one arm portion of said levers having a transverse bail yokesupported thereon and extending through an intermediate portion of saidclosure ramp, said chute housing side walls having arcuate tracks fortravel of the outer ends of said bail yoke thereon, the other armportion of said levers having a transverse counterweighted rollerfollower rotatably supported therebetween so as to be positioned inoverlying relation to said lower passageway closure member rearwardedge, said follower being gravity biased to a first position causingsaid levers to move said closure ramp to its horizontal closed position,actuating means in said service area operatively connected to said lowerpassageway closure member for moving said closure member from its normalclosed position to its open position, said closure member in its courseof travel engaging said follower resulting in said closure ramp beingmoved to its open position permitting ice pieces dispensed from thedispenser to be guided between said closure member and said closure rampfrom said upper passageway into said lower passageway.
 5. Therefrigerator of claim 1 wherein said closure member and said closureramp in their open positions being in substantially parallel relationand each having an angle of inclination of about 50* from thehorizontal.
 6. The refrigerator of claim 3 wherein said delayed closingmechanism includes a pair of said bellows, a housing positioned in saidservice area slidably supporting said actuating means, said housinghaving a pair of tubular cylinders the principal axes of which areparallel to and symmetrically positioned on either side of the path ofmovement of said actuating means, each of said cylinders enclosing oneof said bellows, whereby inward pressure on said actuating meanssimultaneously compresses said pair of bellows to insure axial movementof said actuating means.